Episode #155: What is a “home?” It is more than just the physical structure we live in; “home” has overlapping dimensions. We say that the town or city we live in is our home, as is our country, and the entire planet… even the solar system and galaxy where we are but a speck. “Home” conveys a sense of belonging. It evokes feelings of comfort, safety, and familiarity.

If we are forced to leave our home and cannot return, it as a deeply distressing and unsettling experience, filled with grief, sadness and disorienting sense of disconnection. In short, forcibly losing our home is traumatic.

For so many Burmese, this “loss of home” trauma is felt acutely on multiple dimensions. In our second panel, titled “Yearning for Home: Burmese Voices on Exile and Loss,” our panel is composed of guests who have tragically lost their “home.” For those of us sitting comfortably in our own homes, the conversation engenders a greater sense of empathy and connection with the people of Burma and their plight, inspiring us by their courage and determination in the face of adversity.